= Director of Gunnery and AA Warfare
DNC = Director of Naval Construction
DNO = Director of Naval Ordnance
DRC = Defence Requirements Committee (British)
DTSD = Director, Training and Staff Duties Division
EMV = Elswick-Metro-Vickers
FAM = Fast Aerial Mine
FKC = fuse keeping clock
FPS = Flyplane Predictor System
FTP = Fleet Training Publication
FY = financial year
GDR = Gun Direction Room
GDS = Gun Direction System
GRU = Gyro Rate Unit
GRUB = Gyro Rate Unit Box
GRUDOU = Gyro Rate Unit Deflection Oil Unit
GUNAR = Gun and Radar
HA = high-angle
HACP = High Angle Control Position
HACS = High Angle Control System
HACT = High Angle Calculating Table
HADES = High Angle Director Eyeshooting Sights
HADFAS = High Angle Director Forward Area Sight
HADT = High-Angle Director Tower
HAT = Hinged Air Tail
HC = high-capacity (shell)
HE = high explosive
HETF = high explosive time fused (shell)
IFF = Identify Friend or Foe
LA = low angle
LRS = long-range system
LT = Luft Torpedo
MAT = Monoplane Air Tail
MBTA = Mission ballistique des tirs aeriens
MPI = Mean Point of Impact
MRS = medium-range system
MTB = motor torpedo boat
NAD = Naval Air Division
NDRC = National Defence Research Committee
OpNav = Office of the Chief of Naval Operations
OSRD = Office of Scientific Research and Development
PAC = Parachute and Cable (rocket)
PC = poste à calcul
PPI = plan position indicator (display)
QF = quick-firing (gun)
RAAF = Royal Australian Air Force
RAE = Royal Aircraft Establishment
RAF = Royal Air Force
RDF = radio direction finding (i.e. radar)
RNTF = Royal Navy Torpedo Factory
RP = remote power
RPB = Rounds per Bird
RPC = Remote Power Control
R/T = radio telephone
SEDC = Simple Electric Deflection Calculator
SG = Schnelle Geleitfahrzeuge (fast escort ships)
SGS = Small Ship Gun System
SGU = Single Gun Unit
STAAG = Simple Tachymetric AA Gun
STAE = Second Time Around Echo
STD = Simple Tachymetric Director
STS = Standard Temporary System
TACU = Target Acquisition Control Unit
TBS = Talk Between Ships (voice radio)
TDS = Target Designation Systems
TE = tangent elevation
TEWA = Threat Analysis and Weapon Assignment
TIO = Target Indication Officer
TIR = Target Indication Room
TIU = Target Indication Unit
TOM = Tachymetric One Man (system)
TS = Transmitting Station
UP = Unrotated Projectile (rocket)
VCAS = Vice Chief of the Air Staff
VNCS = Vice Chief of the Naval Staff
WD = weather deck (mounting)
Many friends helped me in this project, research for which extended back many years to my earlier work on US naval weapons, on naval radars, and then on various classes of warships, particularly US and British. As with my earlier books, this one is based largely on archival sources. The official archives involved, to the staffs of all of which I owe great thanks, were the US National Archives (largely Archives II at College Park), the British National Archive (which I still think of as the Public Record Office [PRO]), the Royal Naval Historical Branch and Admiralty Library (and particularly Admiralty Librarian Ms Jennie Wraight), the Royal Australian Navy Sea Power Centre (particularly its chief Dr David Stevens and his assistant John Perryman), the US Navy Department Library at the Washington Navy Yard (particularly the special collections, and particularly by head librarian Glenn Helm), the US Navy Operational Archives at the Washington Navy Yard, the Archive at the Naval War College in Newport (particularly archivist Dr Evelyn Cherpak), the Brass Foundry outstation of the National Maritime Museum (particularly its head Jeremy Michell and his assistant Andrew Choong), the French defence archive at Vincennes (which now incorporates the old Service Historique de la Marine, where I did the research), and the French DGA archive at Chatellerault. I also enjoyed the hospitality of the library associated with the Science Museum in London, and that of the reference branch of the New York Public Library. For photographs my main institutional sources were the still photo collection at Archives II, the collection of the Naval Historical and Heritage Center (for which I am particularly grateful to its curator emeritus, Chuck Haberlein; I also wish to thank his successor Robert Hanshew, now no longer there), and the photo library at the US Naval Institute (for assistance with which I particularly wish to thank its curator, Janis Jorgensen). Dr Stevens
